itcattliffe



J. W. McAULIFFE.

DRINKING TUBE FOR LIQUID CONTAINERS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 26 I919.

Patented July 15, 1919.

JOHN W. MOAULIFFE, OF PELHAM, NEW YORK.

DRINKING-WEE FOR LIQUID-CONTAINERS. i

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 15, 1919.

Application filed Apri126, 1919. Serial No. 292,782.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN W. MGAULIFFE, a citizen of the United States, residing at town of Pelham, county of Westchester, State of New York, have invented a certain. new and useful Im rovement in Drinking- Tubes for Liquidontainers, and declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description ofthe same, such as will enable others skilled inthe art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to automatic drinking tube devices which are adapted to be housed within a bottle or other liquid container and to be delivered in a clean, sanitary condition to the consumer upon the opening of the container,

The object of the present invention is to produce a device which will be delivered y reason of its buoyancy, be simple in construction, and reliable in operation.-

In the case of a carbonated beverage there is a strong rush of fluids out of the container when the latter is opened which results in .Waste of the liquid, inconvenience to the consumer, and possible damage from the scattered liquid and which, in the case of a buoyant drinking device, may result in throwing the entire device out of the containerin the manner of a projectile.

Viewed in one of its aspects my invention may be said to have for its object to produce a simple and novel device which will be prevented from being discharged completely from the container by the force of the fluid pressure therein when the container is opened.

For the purpose of preventing the accidental discharge of the drinking tube device from .a container, it may be provided with a flange or shoulder which will engage with some portion of the container to limit its outward movement. This flange or shoulder may be so designed that it will serve as,

a check valve to close the container and pre vent the eruption of the liquid from the container when the stopper or other closure is removed. Therefore, viewed in one of its aspects, my invention may be said to have for its object to produce a simple and novel drinking device which will be automatically presented to a consumer upon the opening of a'liquid container and will at the same time serve as a valve to prevent the escape of the liquid except through the drinking device.

The various features of novelty. whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding vof my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a bottle equipped in accordance with the present invention, the drinking device being shown in full lines in the position which it occupies when the bottle is filled with liquid and sealed, and in dotted lines in the position which it occupies when delivered upon the opening of the bottle;

Fig. 2 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section showing a modified form of drinking device;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through a still further modified form of tube; and

Fig. 4 is a section approximately on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, 1 represents a bottle of any suitable shape which is intended to be illustrative of liquid containers of any kind. The bottle is closed by means of a cork or cap, 2, in any usual or suitable way. The drinking device comprises a tube, 3, whose overall length in the vertical direction is not greaterthan the interior height of the bottle, In considering the invention in one of its aspects, the

tube is made buoyant so that when the bottle is opened the upper end of the tube will be lifted out of the bottle by the liquid contents, as indicated in dotted lines. After the upper end of the tube has been delivered into a position which will permit the consumer tograsp it, the tube may be used as an ordinary drinking straw.

The tube may be made of any suitable material which will not be affected by or in turn afi'ect the liquid contents of the bottle. In the arrangement-shown, the tube is intended to be of glass or other vitreous material, made buoyant by means of a 'collar or sleeve, 4, of any desired length and thickness surrounding the lower end of the tube, the bulk of the collar being of course such that it will lift the upper end of the tube out of the bottle when free to do so. Instead of placing a sleeve of cork or other light material on the tube, the same result may be obtained by means of an air chamber. Thus, as shown in Fig. 2, the tube, 5, has its lower half surrounded by a light shell, 6, considerably larger in diameter than the tube, and having its ends brought inwardly and engaging the Walls of the tube; thus formingbetween the shell and the tube a sealed annular chamber, 7 The shell may conveniently be made of glass so that the ends may be fused to the glass tube.

On the tube, whether it take either of the forms shown or whether it be a buoyant tube or be made to project itself automatically from the bottle in some other manner, is a flange or shoulder, 8, which limits the upward movement of the tube and prevents it from being accidentally discharged from the bottle. The member 8 may conveniently take the form of a disk of cork or other suitable material, of such diameter that it Will seat itself in the lower or inner end of the neck of the bottle, when the tube is raised, and act as an imvardly-opening check valve to prevent discharge of thecontents of the bottle except through the tube. With this arrangement, if the contents of the bottle are carbonated, not only is the tube prevented from being discharged completely from the bottle, but the disk acts as a check' valve to prevent the liquid contents of the bottle from gushing out as they usually do when the bottle is opened.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have illustrated a somewhat difi'erent arrangement in which the lower end of the tube 9 is enlar ed, as indicated at 10, to provide space or the reception of a float, 11. The fioat is made in any suitable manner and is conveniently provided with one or more longitudinal.

grooves, 12, in the periphery. lVith this latter arrangement the float may be fitted snugly into the tube, the groove'or grooves, 12, forming channels through which the liquid may be drawn. If desired, the float may be a capsule of glass suitably grooved.

While I have illustrated and describedonly a single form of my invention, with a few modifications, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the terms employed in the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a liquid eontainer having a removable top, of a drinking tube. device arranged within the contamer and adapted to have its upper end raised out of the container when the latter is opened, and a stop device for limiting the upward movement of the device.

2. The combination with a liquid container having a removable top, of a drinking tube device arranged within the contamer and adapted to have its upper end raised out of the container when the latter is opened, and means on said tube serving as a check valve to close the container- 3. The combination with a container having an outlet smaller than the cross sectional area of the container, a closure for said outlet, a drinking tube device arranged in the container and adapted to have one end carried out through said outlet when said closure is removed, and a valve carried by said device and adapted to close said outlet when said end has reached a predetermined position beyond the outlet.

4:. The combination with a bottle, of a drinking tube device arranged within the bottle and adapted to have its upper end raised out of the bottle when the latter is opened, and a valve on said device adapted to cooperate with the neck of the bottle to close the latter when said end of said device passes out of the bottle.

5. A device of the character described, comprising an elongated tube made buoyant by means of a sealed .air chamber.

6. A device of the character described, comprising an elongated tube made buoyant by means of a sealed air chamber in the vicinity of its lower end. 7

7. A device of the character described, comprising an elongated tube having the lower end enlarged,'and a float arranged in the enlarged lower end, the parts belng so constructed and arranged that the float permits liquid to be drawn past the same when it is in position in the tube.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification.

JOHN W. MOAULIFFE. 

